Think you have bad drivers here? Try driving in china!
09-30-2004, 06:03 PM
#1
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Think you have bad drivers here? Try driving in china!
http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1
Everybody Stand Back
China takes to the road.
BY MICHELLE KREBS
October 2004
With China in the midst of an enormous manufacturing boom, automakers are streaming to the world's most populace country in hopes of building cars and making deals there. Automotive writer Michelle Krebs tagged along on a recent Cadillac foray into China and filed this story on the driving life there.
Driving in China is nightmarish. In addition to streets clogged with bicycles, cars, and overloaded trucks, drunk driving is enough of a problem that you can buy insurance to protect yourself against it. Well, sort of—it's the drunk who buys the insurance. A Beijing woman, interviewed by English-language People's Daily, said she would gladly buy the policy for her husband as he cannot avoid drinking in his daily business activities. She didn't mention his occupation. It's really no surprise that China is already the world leader in traffic accidents and fatalities.
Imagine a place where everyone drives like a teenager. In essence, that's China. Except for professional drivers, few Chinese have much experience, but that lack isn't stopping the Chinese from obtaining driver's licenses—real and fake—in staggering numbers. However, with a per capita income averaging $1000, only a fraction of people there can afford cars.
New drivers have a name—benbenzu—and a lethal reputation. In Shanghai, they are blamed for half the traffic accidents. Business is booming for driving schools and companies that rent cars with driving coaches. Some Beijing driving schools claim to be signing up over 2000 students a day.
Accident statistics are staggering. China has a scant 1.9 percent of the world's cars, but its drivers are involved in 15 percent of the world's road deaths. Road accidents killed 104,372 people in China last year—about 300 per day. By comparison, Americans own 30 percent of the world's cars, drive far more than the Chinese, and 43,220 died last year on U.S. roads. Not surprisingly, dealerships like Buick's store on the outskirts of Beijing derive half of their profits from collision repair.
GM forbids its non-Chinese executives working in China to drive. They must hire drivers, a common practice in China. Complicating things, foreigners generally can't drive without obtaining a Chinese driver's license, a red-tape-laden process that includes a medical exam and, in some cases, a road test.
Apparently, there are some traffic laws. A Chinese-born GM executive reports that she's been ticketed on separate occasions for talking on her cell phone, drinking a beverage, and eating while driving. Chopsticks must make steering difficult.
Rules of etiquette determine the car you can own. In this communist country, one must own a lesser car than the boss. And buying a Japanese car is a no-no in many quarters. The Chinese are still miffed about the Japanese occupation in the '30s and an incident of epic cruelty known as the Rape of Nanking. Park your Japanese car in certain garages, and you'll be fined first; persist, and your tires will be deflated.
GM, Cadillac specifically, is buoyed with hope as luxury sales are booming in China, thanks to sudden wealth of an estimated 10 million new "capitalists" there. Hard to believe, but China is BMW's largest market for the pricey 7-series. Cadillac will first sell the CTS sedan and SRX sport-ute, followed by the XLR roadster and STS flagship sedan. Cadillac general manager Mark LaNeve expects that within two to four years China could become Cadillac's largest market outside the U.S.
GM unveiled Cadillacs to hundreds of Chinese dignitaries at the Beijing show last May at an extravaganza that paralleled Hollywood's Academy Awards. Guests walked a red carpet that led to the Imperial Ancestors' Temple at Tiananmen East, not far from Beijing's Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, which recently marked the 15th anniversary of the deadly pro-democracy uprising. Partygoers gazed as dancers in exotic costumes, designed by Ang Lee (director of the Hollywood blockbuster Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), pulled back the wraps on the Cadillacs.
Mao must have turned over in his grave.
China takes to the road.
BY MICHELLE KREBS
October 2004
With China in the midst of an enormous manufacturing boom, automakers are streaming to the world's most populace country in hopes of building cars and making deals there. Automotive writer Michelle Krebs tagged along on a recent Cadillac foray into China and filed this story on the driving life there.
Driving in China is nightmarish. In addition to streets clogged with bicycles, cars, and overloaded trucks, drunk driving is enough of a problem that you can buy insurance to protect yourself against it. Well, sort of—it's the drunk who buys the insurance. A Beijing woman, interviewed by English-language People's Daily, said she would gladly buy the policy for her husband as he cannot avoid drinking in his daily business activities. She didn't mention his occupation. It's really no surprise that China is already the world leader in traffic accidents and fatalities.
Imagine a place where everyone drives like a teenager. In essence, that's China. Except for professional drivers, few Chinese have much experience, but that lack isn't stopping the Chinese from obtaining driver's licenses—real and fake—in staggering numbers. However, with a per capita income averaging $1000, only a fraction of people there can afford cars.
New drivers have a name—benbenzu—and a lethal reputation. In Shanghai, they are blamed for half the traffic accidents. Business is booming for driving schools and companies that rent cars with driving coaches. Some Beijing driving schools claim to be signing up over 2000 students a day.
Accident statistics are staggering. China has a scant 1.9 percent of the world's cars, but its drivers are involved in 15 percent of the world's road deaths. Road accidents killed 104,372 people in China last year—about 300 per day. By comparison, Americans own 30 percent of the world's cars, drive far more than the Chinese, and 43,220 died last year on U.S. roads. Not surprisingly, dealerships like Buick's store on the outskirts of Beijing derive half of their profits from collision repair.
GM forbids its non-Chinese executives working in China to drive. They must hire drivers, a common practice in China. Complicating things, foreigners generally can't drive without obtaining a Chinese driver's license, a red-tape-laden process that includes a medical exam and, in some cases, a road test.
Apparently, there are some traffic laws. A Chinese-born GM executive reports that she's been ticketed on separate occasions for talking on her cell phone, drinking a beverage, and eating while driving. Chopsticks must make steering difficult.
Rules of etiquette determine the car you can own. In this communist country, one must own a lesser car than the boss. And buying a Japanese car is a no-no in many quarters. The Chinese are still miffed about the Japanese occupation in the '30s and an incident of epic cruelty known as the Rape of Nanking. Park your Japanese car in certain garages, and you'll be fined first; persist, and your tires will be deflated.
GM, Cadillac specifically, is buoyed with hope as luxury sales are booming in China, thanks to sudden wealth of an estimated 10 million new "capitalists" there. Hard to believe, but China is BMW's largest market for the pricey 7-series. Cadillac will first sell the CTS sedan and SRX sport-ute, followed by the XLR roadster and STS flagship sedan. Cadillac general manager Mark LaNeve expects that within two to four years China could become Cadillac's largest market outside the U.S.
GM unveiled Cadillacs to hundreds of Chinese dignitaries at the Beijing show last May at an extravaganza that paralleled Hollywood's Academy Awards. Guests walked a red carpet that led to the Imperial Ancestors' Temple at Tiananmen East, not far from Beijing's Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, which recently marked the 15th anniversary of the deadly pro-democracy uprising. Partygoers gazed as dancers in exotic costumes, designed by Ang Lee (director of the Hollywood blockbuster Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), pulled back the wraps on the Cadillacs.
Mao must have turned over in his grave.
09-30-2004, 07:37 PM
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Actually, I've been to China, and it's not as bad as it's made out to be. Considering how crowded with people and bicycles the roads are, it's remarkable that there aren't more accidents. In Beijing, at least, there is some semblance of respect for the rules. Taiwan, on the other hand...
I'm not sure about the prejudice against Japanese cars either. While it may exist, I have ridden in Japanese cars (many owned or operated by government officials) on many occasions. In fact, I got the sense that Japanese cars were often preferred since they were more low-key than a Mercedes or BMW.
I'm not sure about the prejudice against Japanese cars either. While it may exist, I have ridden in Japanese cars (many owned or operated by government officials) on many occasions. In fact, I got the sense that Japanese cars were often preferred since they were more low-key than a Mercedes or BMW.
10-19-2006, 04:50 PM
#4
Yea, but half the drivers are Asian women. Scary enough for you?
Side note: I live in the sticks where I feel like I'm the only person who's under 25 and not white; one day I drove (2+ hours) to an Asian plaza to pick up some groceries, and I suffered extreme driving culture shock.
And Taiwan's streets are ... interesting. Small collisions are frequent and most cars are scraped up in some way, but nobody's really going fast enough in the city to hurt anyone. Further south in the rural areas, you'd think that red lights were optional from the way people drive. Still, I've been to Bangkok, and that was much crazier.
Side note: I live in the sticks where I feel like I'm the only person who's under 25 and not white; one day I drove (2+ hours) to an Asian plaza to pick up some groceries, and I suffered extreme driving culture shock.
And Taiwan's streets are ... interesting. Small collisions are frequent and most cars are scraped up in some way, but nobody's really going fast enough in the city to hurt anyone. Further south in the rural areas, you'd think that red lights were optional from the way people drive. Still, I've been to Bangkok, and that was much crazier.
10-19-2006, 07:23 PM
#5
Safety Car
I got it down the three weeks I was there, you just keep passing on the left until the vehicle coming towards you is bigger than what you are driving! 
10-19-2006, 07:30 PM
#6
Right.... try driving in a crowded street in Vietnam!
10-19-2006, 08:43 PM
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i'm living in Beijing, because of the 2008 Olympics, police are out to control the traffic flow, things are calming down. it's still not as bad as the article makes it out to be.
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